Food processing machinery sales across the globe are set to rise by 7.3 percent per year, hitting $53.3 billion in 2016.

A study from market research group, The Freedonia Group, claims that the Asia-Pacific will lead the trend with an average of 9.5 percent growth per year from 2011 to 2016 - thanks to the strong Chinese market.

Increased demand for processed foods in developing countries, as well as increases in personal wealth, is responsible for the growth, with demand for value-added foods like chocolate and mear in countries like China and Brazil prompting manufacturers to broaden their manufacturing capabilities.

As reported on Foodprocessing.com.au, Freedonia said industrial baking equipment is a key growth area at the moment, accounting for one-fifth of all food processing machinery sales last year, with expectations that this segment will post the largest value gains heading into 2016.

"Rising personal incomes will spur increased demand for processed foods and a dietary shift toward more costly, non-staple items, while advancing industrialisation in these nations will make it more efficient to process basic foods such as grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts by machine rather than manually," Freedonia said. "Sales of food processing machinery in other developing areas of the world will, generally speaking, climb at a healthy pace."

The market research group has also found that global demand for green packaging is one the rise, set to reach $212 billion in 2015.

Green packaging, which comprises recycled content, reusable and degradable packaging, is projected to rise 5.7 percent per year to 2015.

While recycled content packaging will remain by far the largest product type through the forecast period and beyond, this segment will see the slowest increases due to the maturity of products such as metal cans and glass containers. On the other hand, above-average demand growth is expected in reusable and degradable packaging. In particular, demand for degradable packaging will continue to see double-digit annual growth rates, despite only accounting for one percent of the overall green packaging market through to 2015.

The Asia-Pacific region will see above-average gains and remain the largest regional market for green packaging in the world, with some of the fastest growth rates expected to be seen in Asia, specifically India, China and Indonesia.

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